He would not die as wolf. Nicolas shifted back into his human form to address the mortal. Because of Jamie, Damian was dying.
Naked, vulnerable, he refused to cower. Jamie, he uttered. Your time will come.
Low, amused laughter rippled through the air. Jamie pushed past the glowering bodyguards. You can barely stand. Well destroy your leader, Nicolas. We already have, thanks to your help.
Nicolas remained silent. Disobeying pack rules, hed taught Jamie magick and she used it to join the Morphs and increase her powers. From her blood, theyd manufactured a disease that was killing his leader.
Another Morph shifted back into human form. Greasy brown hair, empty eyes, cruel twist to his mouth. Kane. The leader. Saliva dripped from Kanes parted lips. Talons grew from his fingernails.
Nicolas tensed as Kane approached.
Nicolas, the Morph leader drawled. Join us. You know you want to.
Ill die first, he growled.
I have powers youll never have as a Draicon, Nicolas. Join us and see. The Morph spread his long, thin arms. I can take to the air as an eagle, swim the seas as a shark, race through the jungle as a jaguar. Can you do the same?
Nicolas steeled his spine. And you smell like the bottom of a garbage can. No thanks. Id rather be a corpse. Then again, you are a corpse. No, something less pleasant. He added colorful verbiage comparing Kane to a natural bodily function.
But Kane only laughed. Words cant hurt me. But you can. Do you dare?
Nicolas remained silent, hands clenched into fists.
Lets kill him, one Morph suggested.
No, Kane countered. Do not touch him. We need him alive for Margaret, if she is the true empath. Hell reawaken her powers when he seeks her to mate.
Dread clawed at Nicolass chest. He had not feared them, even faced with death. He feared now for Maggie. Youll never find her. Ill die fighting before you get your claws on her.
Kane flashed an obscene grin. We already found her, Nicolas. We infected her dog with our new disease. And you cant stay away. The mating urge is claiming you even now. You cant fight your nature.
A mocking snort came from the Morph leader. Nicolas steeled himself against reaching out to strangle Kane. The Morph leader gave a thin, mocking smile.
Leave the bodies. The law will blame the Draicon. Again. Kane laughed.
Clever twist. More ammunition to hunt wolves, destroy his dwindling pack. Pain racked him. Slumping against the oak tree familiar with his scent and Damians, he watched the Morphs vanish into the forest. They would continue growing in power and strength, continuing their assaults. He couldnt stop them.
He needed Maggie. Margaret, the empath prophesied to become the force capable of eliminating the Morph leader. His destined mate, who didnt realize she was Draicon.
Dead leaves crunched beneath their feet. He waited until their stench no longer fouled his nostrils. On the wind, silent laughter followed his noiseless crawling out of the glen.
An hour later, his wounds healed, Nicolas hid beneath the recesses of an overhanging rock. He rested, staring at his beloved moon, listening to wind rustle the branches and stir the dead leaves. Hunger scraped his insides. Power hed lost needed replenishing either by ingesting food, or sharing his body with a woman and absorbing the rich energy emitted during sex.
He needed to hunt. Too weak to change, he ignored the growling of his empty stomach. Must think of other matters. Focus. Softly, he began singing, in desperate hope of easing the agonizing hunger. It didnt work. He switched his thoughts to Maggie.
Sweet, lovely Maggie. His draicara, his destined mate. Naked in the shower when hed sunk into her mind yesterday.
A wave of desire rocked him as he remembered. Slender figure, full, rounded breasts and that mouth ah, made for kissing. Nicolas felt his body tighten, thinking of the delicious things her mouth could do. Those legs, slightly padded with muscle, curved, silky smooth. Hed felt the brisk, impersonal glide of her hand as shed soaped one thigh, bubbles frothing and popping. In her indifferent eyes hed seen the thatch of dark red curls hiding her cleft, and hed gone wild.
Nicolas had howled with lust, driven by the fierce need to claim her. Running his hands over her silky flesh, cupping her breasts, watching the nipples harden and peak. Gently parting her female flesh, testing her readiness, feeling that wetness as he slid a finger into her tight sheath. Then spreading those silky thighs wide open, mounting her, her yielding body pressed beneath his hard one, sinking into her wet, waiting flesh
Hunger abated, replaced by lust as he focused on Margaret. Seeping into her mind like water percolating into the ground.
New agony assailed him. He raised his nose. Wolf inside him silently whined. Lust vanished. Thousands of miles away, he felt her stabbing pain as if it sank into his own chest.
She was crying over the dog again.
Last week, after years of searching, hed found Maggie by pure accident. Hed been baling hay on his ranch when a wave of grief suddenly slammed into him, sharp as the pitchfork tines. Nicolas had sunk to his knees and moaned.
When he recovered from the initial shock, hed sorted out the thoughts invading his mind. And realized hed found his mate. Under extreme duress, a female draicara sometimes subconsciously projected emotions onto her intended mate, as if to summon him to her side at last. When hed explored the mental trail shed sent out, he realized who it was.
Margaret, the packs missing empath.
Nicolas drew in a deep breath, struggling to maintain his identity even as he now sank fully into hers. Absorbing her, sinking into every cell. Her breath as his. Her heart thudding rapidly, increasing his heart rate.
Her emotions his own.
Sweat erupted on his brow. His inner wolf whimpered, anxious to calm the spreading agony, human emotions twining with raw animal pain. So alone, as if all the world were oblivious.
He didnt like feeling like thisopen, vulnerable and exposed. Nicolas reminded himself it was Maggie, not him. Unlike his draicara, he could guard his emotions.
She perched over the sink, clasping it with whitened knuckles. Tension strained the heart-shaped face reflected in the wavy mirror. Her full, pouty mouth thinned with pain. Nicolas felt as if poison had seeped into his very bones.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Trying to hold them backoh, she triedso as not to upset the animal she carefully tended. But the grief, it washed over her in cresting waves. She hung her head over the sink and sobbed.
Nicolas struggled to hold back his own tears.
Finally she splashed cold water on her face, and dried it. Forced a wobbly smile on her face, and went out to tend to her patient. The little brown dog lifted her head.
Across the white tile floor of Maggies kitchen, a small brown cockroach scurried, then went still. He tensed, for the roach might be a Morph in disguise come to kill her. But it did not show any signs of shifting. After a minute he relaxed. Just an ordinary insect.
Nicolas felt Maggies natural disgust. He figured shed scream, slam down the broom. Instead, he felt her stride over to the loathsome insect. She fumbled for a jar on the counter, trapped it, turned the jar over. Just as quickly, she released the roach outside. Through Maggies eyes, Nicolas watched it crawl over the white beach sands.
His jaw went slack.
From its fluffy pillow, he heard the dog shed named Misha bark weakly in protest. Damn straight, dog, Nicolas agreed. Id kill it, too.
You know the rules, Misha. Everything lives, Maggie said softly. Even roaches. I swore never to hurt another living thing. Ever.
Damn. This was going to be far harder than hed ever imagined. How the hell could he turn this woman into a cocked weapon ready to kill Morphs when she was rescuing bugs?
Nicolas drew in another deep breath, severed the connection so cleanly he could almost hear the snap. He dropped his head into the thick cushion of dead leaves and moss.
He didnt want to break away. Part of him wanted to remain. Comfort her. Enfold her in his strong embrace and never let go.
Those emotions were his own, he thought grimly. Dangerous emotions but natural. Every male Draicon was born with the instinct to protect his mate. Even though his particular mate had no idea of his existence or that of his people. Their people.
Minutes passed. Or was it hours? A familiar scent approached noiselessly. Moonlight gilded a pair of polished brown boots. Naked and vulnerable, he sat up to face his leader.
You look like crap, Damian observed. The soft New Orleans drawl hed acquired from a childhood in the bayou accented his words. They came for you again because you were protecting us. Why do you insist on staying when you know youre banished?
Nicolas made no reply. He knew Damian had smelled the death, heard the screams. He had sensed what happened.
Nicolas one day one will kill you. If you stay, Damian said gently.
I wont abandon you, Dai. You need me. The pack needs me. He grated out the words, locking gazes with the older male.
As Damians beta, Nicolas was responsible for carrying out the leaders orders. He was the packs best hunter. When the pack had been in danger of being eliminated by the Morphs, Nicolas had stepped in and taught them the best way to destroy the enemy. He had studied the Morphs weak spots and succeeded in destroying hundreds. Nicolas, the killing machine.
He knew nothing else.
Pale green eyes observed him silently. Damian waved his hands. A covered metal plate materialized on the ground before Nicolas. Nicolas sprang forward as Damian winced.
Dammit, you shouldnt be doing this. Not in your condition. Dont waste your energy.
His leader offered a rueful smile, dragged in a breath. Sweat glistened on his brow. With the flair of a gourmet chef, Damian whipped off the plates cover.
Voila. I knew you needed food. Or sex. The pack leader regarded Nicolas with a level look. But you know the rules.
No sex with pack females. Not for Nicolas, the banished. What irony. Damian often joked about Nicolass harem, the unmated, sexually experienced pack females eager to copulate with him. After a Morph fight, hed pace before those presenting themselves to him. Dark eyes brooding, his muscular body tense and aggressive, hed select one for the night. Then hed claim her, using her sexual heat to restore his lost energy.
Now no pack female could touch him.
Salivating, Nicolas eyed the bloodied, raw meat. He shot a worried glance at Damians pale face, the flash of pain in his green eyes.
Wolf it down, Damian advised, a half smile touching his mouth at the old joke.
His hunger a live, writhing need, Nicolas hesitated. Trying to disguise his weakness before his leader, he couldnt hold back his howling need for energy. Damian delicately turned his back. Grateful, Nicolas abandoned any pretense. Picking up the elk steak with his hands, he ripped into the meat. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he then replaced the cover. It clanged against the metal plate.
Thank you, Nicolas managed to say.
Stronger now, he used his magick to cover his nudity with jeans, a black T-shirt and boots. Damian turned. He sat on his haunches, silent.
Dai, youre getting worse. The matter-of-fact statement cloaked his concern.
I have time. Damians cocky grin seemed forced. Two months, maybe, at the rate my body is deteriorating. He shrugged, glancing away.
Two months and Damian would be dead? After the agony, the cancerlike disease racking his body with pain ate its way through his internal organs. Nicolas clenched his fists. Dammit. He had to find Maggie. Fast.
Dai His throat closed with emotion. Nicolas clamped a lid on his feelings and arranged a blank look on his face.
Damian seemed to understand, for he waved a hand, dismissing the topic. Never one to complain, more concerned about the pack.
Tell me about Margaret. The name slipped out in a soft slur. Mah-gah-rhett. You made contact with her again. I can tell by your tears. Her emotions are yours, Nicolas. She was crying. His sharp green gaze focused on dried tears streaking Nicolass cheeks.
Nicolas scrubbed his face with a clenched fist. The dog is dying. Always the dog, as Maggie sought a logical solution to a problem caused by something not logical in the human world. Then, in private, the tears would flow, because she could not heal the animal she loved.
Ah. Her pet. Difficult.
A friend. Not a pet. She cant cure Misha. Shes trying to find the mutation in the cells. The Morphs infected the dog.
Damian rubbed the back of his neck absently. A test of Margarets powers to draw her out. Theyve found her.
Nicolas drew in another breath, feeling his lungs expand with clean, pure air. The dog had been Maggies constant companion for five years. Serving as canine nurse, she also helped her calm the animals she treated.
Now Misha was dying, succumbing to a new disease that baffled Maggie.
The very same disease eating away at Damians insides.
He felt an ache reverberate down to his very soul, his spirit crying out to be with hers. He threw back his head, feeling the beast emerge, the wolf howling to be released, and allowed to run. To avoid the pain. Find a dark place and seek comfort.
He could not, just as he could not sever the tie between himself and Maggie.
Shes unaware of her true identity. Nicolas stated it as fact. I discovered that much by mind-bonding with her. Something happened when her parents died, and she blocked out all prior memories. She thinks shes mortal, not Draicon. Convincing her will be difficult.
You know your duty, Nicolas. You must mate with her soon and bring her home. Before the Morphs destroy her.
Damian stood, leaning his six-foot-tall body against a tree. Beneath the casual air lurked coiled tension, power. Ready to spring into action, if necessary. Their leader never released his guard. Or trusted easily, outside of his pack.
I know. I know the risks. To him and to Maggie. But if it means saving you
Forget me. Damian made a slashing gesture. Its too late. But if she can heal our people when the Morphs infect them, thats all that matters.
Ill get her here in time, Nicolas said fiercely. Dont doubt it. Trust me.
Emotion flared in Damians eyes. Its not good for you to face this alone. You need our people.
Nicolas lifted his head, regarding him calmly. You know thats impossible. They blame me for what happened to Jamie. As they should. When I get Maggie, then Ill return. Until then